BHP Group's (ASX: BHP) latest results highlight a standout operational year, with copper now contributing more than half of group earnings for the first time.
The company also declared a full-year dividend of US$8.7 billion, its highest in four years, with an FY26 payout ratio of 66%, well above the 50% minimum and exceeding analyst expectations of 63%, supported by strong cash generation, tight cost control, and higher copper and iron ore prices.
Operationally, BHP delivered almost 2 million tonnes of copper for the second consecutive year, record iron ore production and shipments in Weste...
What Vandita Pant said
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BHP CFO Vandita Pant reported FY26 results with copper contributing more than half of earnings for the first time, a full-year dividend of $8.7 billion (the highest in four years), and a payout ratio of 66% versus a 50% minimum. She highlighted BHP's capital allocation framework and operational strengths: two million tons of copper production for the second consecutive year, record iron ore shipments, and a seventh consecutive year as the lowest-cost iron ore producer. Pant outlined copper growth plans: Copper South Australia to increase from 320 KT to over 500 KT in phase one and up to 650 KT in phase two; the Vicuña project in Argentina could reach final investment decision by end of 2026; the Copper South Australia smelter decision within 18 months; and Escondida's final investment decision next calendar year. She emphasized that BHP can self-fund growth and maintain strong balance sheet and dividends. She projected 35 billion dollars of attributable free cash flow over five years at market consensus prices.
Key takeaways
Copper contributed more than 50% of BHP's earnings for the first time.
FY26 dividend was $8.7 billion, the highest in four years.
BHP plans 3-4% annual growth to mid-next decade, with copper at 5%.
Copper South Australia production to rise from 320 KT to over 500 KT in phase one.
Hello and welcome to Livewire's C-Suite reporting season coverage. My name is Anna Dadich. Today I'm speaking to BHP's CFO Vandita Pant to talk about today's results. Vandita, it's great to talk to you. What were the key numbers investors need to be aware of from the latest results?
So I'll quote maybe a few, Anna. First is more than 50%. That is the number which relates to copper contributing more than half of earnings for BHP for the first time. And this is a very exciting number. Second number I'll quote perhaps is 8.7 billion US dollars, which is the dividend for the full year, the fourth — the highest dividend in last four years. And it's not just about performance, but also about our growth going forward. So I'll quote the number three to 4% per year of growth from here to mid of next decade, which for copper is 5% between here to mid next decade growth, which is also very exciting.
It is. Okay, so investors are going to be very happy with the dividend, obviously the highest in four years as you just mentioned. So BHP has a minimum dividend payout ratio of 50% and the FY26 dividend landed at 66%, above analyst expectations of 63%. What was the rationale behind higher shareholder returns?
So we have this capital allocation framework, Anna, that we adhere to every six months. It's based on the cash which is generated in the business and our outlook for where the markets are, and on that basis, 50% dividend we always give to the shareholders and then more based on all these considerations. And in FY26, we had a standout year operationally. We are already the largest copper producer in the world, and we delivered almost two million tons of copper production for second year in the running. In Western Australia iron ore business, another great business that we have, we had record shipment and record production for the year. And for the seventh year in a row, we were the lowest cost producer in the world through iron ore business that we have. All that operational performance along with very tight cost control and copper prices being up 35%, iron ore prices being up 3%, allowed us to look at that cash flow which was generated along with $6 billion of capital on behalf of our shareholders that we unlocked from the capital and assets that we already have. Both of those things together led us to, as you said, declare the dividend which is highest in four years. And given the cash flow generation capacity of this business and good balance sheet strength as well, we are very confident to be able to continue to have attractive shareholder returns along with high-quality growth that I just talked about.
Onto that growth story, BHP's copper transition is arguably the most exciting part of your growth story. Copper earnings now make up 54% of group earnings. How high can it go from here?
Well, as you said, that is indeed the exciting part of our growth story. We have some of the most attractive and high-quality copper growth options around the world. In here in Australia, in Copper South Australia, our assets there are doing very well. In fact, Olympic Dam had the record production of last 20 years in the last year. Copper South Australia produced 320 KT of copper last year and our plan there in phase one is to increase that to more than 500 KT. And there is a second phase which can take it up to 650 KT as well. Then we have our largest copper mine in the world that we run in Chile, and we're investing in that growth which is also very exciting. And then in Argentina, Vicuña, which is the third option we have, which could be among the top five copper as well as among the top five gold producers and producing assets once fully ramped up. And then we have some long-term options. So our current performance of copper already makes us the largest copper producer in the world, but till mid-30s, we will have 5% growth per annum going forward. And this is after we have already increased our copper production in last four years by 30%. So it's very exciting and very low capital intensity projects around the world for us.
Okay. So net debt came in at 8.7 billion US, below your US 10 to 20 billion dollar target range. So, with the balance sheet in such strong shape, what's the priority now? Is it potential shareholder returns or a buffer against CapEx headwinds or investing more into the copper pipeline?
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Pant, V. (2026, August 18). BHP CFO Vandita Pant on dividends, copper growth, and the next 18 months [Interview transcript]. Livewire Markets. CEOInterviews.AI. https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/1227117/
MLA
Vandita Pant. "BHP CFO Vandita Pant on dividends, copper growth, and the next 18 months." Livewire Markets, 18 Aug. 2026. Transcript, CEOInterviews.AI, https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/1227117/.
BibTeX
@misc{pant2026_1227117,
author = {Vandita Pant},
title = {BHP CFO Vandita Pant on dividends, copper growth, and the next 18 months},
howpublished = {Interview transcript, Livewire Markets. CEOInterviews.AI},
year = {2026},
month = {aug},
url = {https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/1227117/},
note = {Speaker-attributed transcript with timestamps}
}
